Sepia
by CrypticMoonFang
Summary: When his daughter falls through the well and enters the very time period her mother has strived to avoid, both parents have their work cut out; Inuyasha butting heads with a daughter he never knew he had, and Kagome desperately trying to find her daughter and take her back home. InuKag
1. Chapter 1

He perched on a nearby branch, hidden from prying eyes such as that of Miroku or Sango. It had long ago become clear that Kagome had no intentions of returning to the Feudal Era—no intentions of returning to _him_. Normally he would've accepted it over all these years, but even with rumors of Kikyo and Naraku floating around from time to time, he couldn't bring himself to permanently part from the Bone-Eater's Well. The longest he'd ever been gone was a whole month when he and his team had been certain that there was a jewel shard inside a gargantuan snake demon. The reason the trip took so long wasn't directly because of the demon, but because it had attacked a village in its vicinity and slaughtered hundreds of innocent people. The dwindling number of survivors had lost their homes, family, and friends. Back then it was so horrible that even Kilala had to help out by carrying loads of lumber and stones to the houses and baskets of medicinal herbs to aid the wounded. The entire time was spent mourning over the deaths.

He was mourning something else though. He had successfully reclaimed a shard of the Shikon no Tama; he should've been happy, if not satisfied. But it seemed a hollow victory for them all. It was the first time that they had located a shard all on their own, without the assistance of anyone else. One of the most valued and important members of their little group had been missing for many years now—Kagome. She was essential and a major asset to them, being as she was the only one with spiritual powers and the ability to sense jewel shards.

She'd left a long time ago—sixteen years to be exact. It wasn't like he ditched her. It wasn't like he never tried to come back for her. He did. He did, so many times... But if she caught him when he was just coming out of the well, she simply used that awful command to bring him straight back down to his own time period. Now he almost missed being stuck in a crater.

_Almost_.

His ears flattened as he remembered the very day she left. It was the same day he'd claimed her as his. She hadn't resisted the idea nor did she try to sidestep it. She hadn't gotten mad. There was no sit command. It was only after they'd proven their love and loyalty to each other that she slapped him and ran off, jumping hastily down the well. She had never come back since.

So, he did the best he could think of and after a few days of her absence, followed her down the well. His first thought was that he would have to try just one or two times, like always, and she would come back with him. But he wound up trying at least twenty times only to be viciously thrown back into the past each time. No one could accuse him of not being persistent enough, especially since he came back at intervals of a few days. It took him all those failures to finally admit to himself that she was gone for good this time and there was nothing he could do that would bring her back. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo tried to assist him by having him relay their messages to her, but she never listened. No matter what he said, no matter what he did...she chased him off.

He hadn't gone back since his last attempt sixteen years ago. It was pointless, he knew, and unless she chose to come back on her own accord, he would never see her again. He only wished that it was his pride that was holding him back, instead of the realization that she would only say "sit" until he agreed to leave.

To send him packing with his tail between his legs was something he never thought possible.

* * *

To her the well was nothing but an old legend once more, as was the tree and the inside of the shrine itself. Her adventures with Inuyasha—how she despised his name—were history, and now she had new adventures and an entirely new goal in life. The jewel meant nothing anymore, being as it only existed in the Feudal Era. That mutt of a halfbreed could—

"Mom!" a feminine voice shouted as footsteps could be heard bounding down the stairs. "Mom, so guess what?!"

Kagome turned around to face her sixteen-year-old daughter, a teenager the spitting image of her father despite a few changes here and there. For one, her father only had long humanlike hair, whereas she had long humanlike hair plus a trail of fur along her back down to a tail. She didn't seem to have inherited any of her mother's traits and even her personality mirrored her father's.

She didn't even know her true heritage, having been told all her life that she had a rare condition that caused a person's physical appearance to become warped. To her knowledge there was no cure or surgery that could fix it.

The problem was, she had the same abilities as her father and often acted like him—hated baths, sniffed the ground and air, and shook herself off like a dog when she was wet. Occasionally she would chew on furniture but that habit was almost dead.

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

"Okay, so get this! Ebisu just asked me out!" she squealed. "I can go, right? I mean on the date?"

Sighing, her mother answered, "You know you can't be seen too much in public; you'll only draw attention to yourself."

"I can tuck my tail in and cover my ears, so please? Nobody will notice, I swear," she pleaded.

"Honey, we've talked about this..."

Per usual, her daughter's temper flared and her cheeks turned red with frustration. "Yeah, we _have_ talked about it. We've talked about it a million times. But have you ever considered how I feel about this? Every time I ask for _one chance_ to be normal you say no! Just because I look a little different! I'm still human; I still deserve to do human things!"

"You _are_ human but—"

"Or wait, should I act like an animal? Because you always treat me like one! Should I sit, beg, and wag my tail every time I'm hungry? Should I walk on all fours and chew on doggie bones all the time? Should I play fetch and sniff people's _butts?!_"

"You are _not_ a dog and you will not _act_ like a dog. But you _will_ listen to me and you _do_ need to trust my judgment, young lady!"

"Why should I?" the girl huffed.

"Because I said so! You are not going on a date and that's final!"

She couldn't go on that date—not because she looked like an animal-human hybrid, but because demons didn't exist in modern times. There was no such "rare condition" that she had. If people decided to look into the reason behind her appearance, she would be taken away and labeled government property.

Kagome knew where Nozomi would truly fit in. On rare occasions she thought about taking her there and then bringing her back to convince her it was merely a dream. But still... Nozomi always had to hide her body. Her tail and ears were especially difficult to cover up and it caused her enormous discomfort. Kagome couldn't really blame her for complaining—her tail had bones that were being forced into an awkward position and her ears had cartilage that was being bent over under a headband every day. Like her father, she wouldn't have that in the Feudal Era.

But in that time period, demons roamed freely and danger lurked around every corner. To ward off danger, she would need to master her abilities. She tried on her own, constantly fighting trees and metal poles, and had gained some experience from it, but there was only one person that could ever teach her how to handle her own strength—her father.

And there was no chance of Nozomi ever knowing about that man.

"Why can't I just do what I want for once?" her daughter continued, almost as if she was unwilling to drop the conversation.

"Nozomi!" Kagome shouted. "Stop acting like your fath—" She stopped mid-sentence and was about to take it back, but she'd let her frustration get the better of her and it was too late now.

Nozomi hissed through her teeth as tears formed at the rims of her eyes. "How can I act like a dead man?!"

Those seemed to be her parting words, because before her mother even had a chance to open her mouth, she'd rushed out the back door. She would be found in the tree by the well house—it was where she always went to calm herself. Most people would blame it on simply being a teenager, but she was actually just as stubborn and hotheaded as her father. It never took much to get her blood boiling and she could be as reckless as ever. She could be crude, arrogant, and rough...but just like her father, she was kindhearted and caring. Kagome knew that she was the overprotective type, but there was nothing to protect so that was probably the only trait that was never revealed.

**A/N**

**Don't you just love where I cut it off? I had the summary in mind so while it was still fresh in my mind, I had to take the chance to go on and upload the document I had, despite being incomplete (but complete enough to make a chapter). Anyway, yeah, hope you enjoyed it and hope you keep reading because things will heat up soon...**


	2. Chapter 2

She lay steaming in the Tree of Ages, still unable to forgive her mother for both treating her like she was an embarrassment to mankind and for telling her to stop acting like her father. Her father was dead. He'd been dead since before she was even born yet her mother had the gall to tell her she was acting like him. Was he really that bad a person? Her mother would've had higher standards if she always got frustrated when she even thought about him. So what exactly did that make _her?_ A replica of her dad or something? In essence her mother had called her a dead man's mirror!

Just...so what? So what if her mom thought that? She could care less, it didn't even matter to her! Let her mom think what she wanted! It was her own opinion that mattered, not anyone else's!

She huffed and leapt higher into the tree. All the stupid talk about sutras and...and legends and crap...and "spiritual powers". Why did she have to be cursed to live in a family of delusional idiots? Oh great... "Cursed", huh? So now she was tainted with her great grandfather's stories?

Well...it was better than imps and demons she supposed. Her name, Nozomi, meant "rare; wish". Pfft. Rare, absolutely. It was like her mother could see the future. She looked half dog, half human. Definitely rare. But wish? Who would wish for a girl like her? A girl who wasn't even allowed to be shown in public that much? She couldn't even go to school like everyone else—her mother homeschooled her. That wasn't a wish, that was an omen. _She_ was an omen. It was a wonder she was even allowed to stay in the family. After all, no one else had a tail that really did wag when they were happy or excited. No one else had a sensitive nose, one that could sniff out a scent a mile away. No one else had as sharp hearing as she did. And her strength and claws were inhuman. She could kill burglars with her "abilities", as her mother called it. In reality they were just part of her condition. They were just deformities. The mirror didn't even reflect her; it only reflected one big mistake.

"Nozomi? Honey?" she heard her mother call.

No. No, absolutely not! She wasn't going to sit and roll over for her mom just because she said her name!

She swung herself to the ground, using the back of the tree as cover, and waited for her chance to slip into the well house. She didn't care if she wasn't allowed in there—it was the very last place her mother would think to look for her. Problem was, she would have to close the door. With nighttime falling, it would be almost impossible to see. Thankfully, the worst that could happen was bumping into the well or another wall. The well was stationed in the middle of the well house so as long as she stayed near the door, she would be fine. But there was a slight window on the door... No matter—she could duck behind the well and feel her way around it when she wanted to come out of the well house.

She had no more time to think about it and did just that when her mother came near the well house still calling out for her. It seemed like forever and her heart was pounding with the thrill of hiding in a place she knew she wasn't supposed to be in. Even better—she was hiding from Mommy dearest. It did make her look like a coward though, the way she hid just because she didn't want to face her mom right now. Yet at the same time it made her feel brave to go somewhere forbidden to her.

Speaking of which, why _was_ the well house forbidden? The worst it could do was give her a splinter and strangely enough there were no spiders or other poisonous pests that made their way in here. It was safe so what was so bad about this place?

Oh no... It had to do with one of those ancient fairytales no doubt... Why her, what did she do to deserve this?

Once her mother had passed, she got up and brushed herself off. No pests, but dust, yes. Dust was an evil thing that got all into her fur and it forced her to take a bath. She hated baths... She would get one for the sake of being clean, but she did so _hate_ the bath itself. Showers were no better aside from getting it over with faster.

Sighing in annoyance at the feeling of dust clinging to her fur, she reached out to feel for the well. There was a sharp hiss as something darted from in front of her feet—the cat had probably been napping behind the well just as she was hiding behind it. Clearly she'd gotten too close for Buuyo's liking.

In darting out from her, he caused her to lose balance and effectively tripped her. The sudden pressure of the edge of the well pressed into her stomach and she stumbled over herself, literally rolling into the well.

She let out a quick squeak as she fell, instinctively covering her head and neck. Naturally, she tried to brace herself for a crushing blow at the bottom of the well...but it was only after about an entire minute that she cracked an eye open. The soft landing should've given away that she didn't give herself broken bone by doing something completely off limits. Part of her snickered at the thought that her mother was wrong about the well—that it spelled danger.

Another, more logical part of her, forced her to get up. There was a vine in the well that looked like it could support her weight so she could simply climb up and make her way back inside the house for dinner. But then she noticed that something just wasn't right about this. First of all, she shouldn't be able to see the vine considering it was nighttime. Secondly, there were beams of light coming in. Last time she checked, that wasn't normal.

Something deep inside told her to go up there and look around. Something else told her she wouldn't find herself back in the well house where she was supposed to be.

She grabbed on to the vine and started climbing, clearly not remembering that she could simply jump up to the ledge and be perfectly fine.

She gasped in surprise to see nothing but forest all around her, the well in the only clearing she could see. It was beautiful, she had to admit, but this definitely wasn't her home. Everything here was unfamiliar territory and that alone was enough to make her nervous. It was a horrible time to be nervous right now since the moon would be full in just a few days' time. She couldn't stay in a _forest_ on a full moon. Hopefully there would be a city nearby. If she was lucky, she would find her way back home at the Higurashi Shrine. Her family was a bunch of weirdoes—not that she was one to talk with her animal appearance—but at least she was safe with them.

She felt her tail slacken a bit and pulled it back around her waist. So painful...but worth it in many ways. Her tail was hidden under her shirt and looked more like a bulky belt. Her ears were fine since they were always covered up with a headband. Hairstyles worked when she was younger and her ears were smaller, but now they were too noticeable. Despite being covered all the time, they were the main reason she wasn't allowed to leave the shrine.

She jumped off the ledge and ran under cover of the trees surrounding the well's clearing. It didn't look like she was anywhere near home. She knew she might also have to rely on nature to help her out before the night of the full moon fell. She didn't have much more time, but if she could just find a city...

She took one last look at the well and parted with it, carefully jumping through the branches in case a wild animal decided to track her scent. Her own nose was working overtime trying to sniff out other animals. Occasionally she caught whiffs of wolves and bears but they weren't nearby and she knew her sense of smell was better than the bears'. The wolves were what worried her most. All they had to do was catch a breeze that happened to blow their way and her scent would travel with it. With her abilities she was more than capable of warding off at least one wolf or maybe two, but they lived in packs and just by smelling them, they were of high numbers. Scratching trees and poles didn't give her enough experience to actually fight a living creature. It sharpened her aim a bit when it came to inanimate objects—maybe that would come in handy...?

She felt a strong wind pull her forth and assumed it was a tornado. Though to be fair she couldn't see any sign of one. Still, going around the source of the wind could be the best way to go. But...what if she had been on the right track to a town but avoiding the wind source would throw her off? Time wasn't on her side this time and every moment spent wandering around aimlessly and lost cost her precious—

Wait. She sniffed the air again. Humans. Yes, there was no doubt. Humans were just a little ways off—the wind had caused their scent to be carried elsewhere but now the breezes were in her favor and she could smell them all too clearly. They could take her to a city where she could take shelter for the time being, then find her way home later. All it would take then was to pick up and follow her mother's scent.

But then there was another smell—two different ones to be exact. Well no. Make that _three_ different smells. One of them smelled kind of like the inside of a jewelry store and soft, subtle perfume combined. The second smelled of...well...something she couldn't quite identify; the closest it could come to be put in words was a foul stench, the likes of which she'd never smelled before. The third one she knew very well and could easily identify—that wind source reeked of fresh blood. It was so potent that it nearly overpowered all other scents and forced several coughs out. The scent burned in her nose. To help staunch it, she placed both her hands over her nose and mouth. Until that bloody scent cleared to a more tolerable level, going toward the wind source was completely out of the question. Besides, now it seemed that the humans were responsible for a murder. The thought of being their next victim made her shudder, and she leapt away through the canopy of the forest.

* * *

"Inuyasha, are you okay?" Shippo asked as he bent over the sickened half demon. "It's not like you to lay around after a battle, especially one with Naraku's demons."

Inuyasha clenched his stomach and groaned. "That blood..."

Miroku picked up his staff and firmly grounded it beside himself. "Shippo, you can't blame him. That demon had acid in its blood. It's putrid even to me so you can imagine how much worse it smells to Inuyasha—enough to make him sick, to say the very least."

"Kilala and I have strong noses too and we can handle it pretty well," he argued.

"You're also not dog demons," Miroku pointed out.

"Dog demons and wolf demons have the strongest sense of smell in the entire world," Sango added. "Inuyasha may be half dog demon but his nose is just as strong. Let's get him away from here and let him rest in a nearby village."

The slayer called forth her demon cat to transform and hefted him onto Kilala's back. It was just their luck to have slain such a demon while Naraku's barrier was weak. Being a half demon himself, Naraku had moments of weakness. During that time his powers weakened dramatically and the barrier could be easily broken.

But the demon they had just killed had taken some time and with Naraku, each second counted. Slaying that demon had only served to delay them while Naraku was growing stronger as he reconstructed his very body. And unfortunately, the slain demon's blood had such a potent stench that Inuyasha was helpless to find or fight Naraku. The scent had overloaded his senses to the point where he was nearly unconscious. It wasn't exactly an asset to the rest of them but it was what it was and there was nothing more they could do about it.

**A/N**

**And thus, it is updated! Please review here! I would seriously love it if you did!**


	3. Chapter 3

Nozomi sighed heavily, more of an effort to get the rest of the blood stench out than out of frustration. Finding a city was impossible around here! She should've simply trailed the humans she'd sniffed out earlier but instead she had continued to run until she could no longer smell them. Now tracking them down was a useless attempt. All she could do for the time being was rest in a tree. Resting was a bittersweet idea—the pros and cons were equal in measure with each other. Weighing them just...wasn't possible.

She looked up at the sky, where the sun had just set and the orange was disappearing from the horizon. The moon was nearing its fullest stage. She had only four days left before the full moon—the middle of the lunar month. Not the best thing in the world...

On the upside there was still time, and with that time came a glimmer of hope. Finding her mother was literally the only shot she had at getting back home.

A small wind blew and carried multiple scents with it. She could've sworn she smelled the previous scents of those humans... There was a slight stink among that smell—it was undoubtedly the foul stench she'd smelled among the humans earlier. There wasn't but a tiny bit of the blood left, which meant they'd cleaned themselves up. They couldn't have gone further away otherwise she wouldn't smell the humans and that...other scent. Something unfamiliar... It was fused perfectly with the scent of a dog. Well, not exactly a dog. Maybe something _like_ that of a dog? Whatever it was, it definitely had the scent of a canine. The humans could have a dog with them. Maybe the dog was crossbred with another canine like a coyote or wolf?

She sniffed the air again to make sure. No, it was only a dog—no coyote or wolf involved there. There was no doubt that the humans and their dog were getting closer. Maybe they were returning to their homes or hideout or whatever. A hideout would be in or near a city. Their homes would be in a city—not that that needed to be said. If she followed them they could lead her to safety. Well, about as safe as she would get out here. She would have to be careful and follow from a distance though. These people were violent enough to kill some innocent person or thing or whatever had that horrible blood; she didn't want to risk being next in line. Keeping a low profile looked like the best way to go.

Hey... There was also a cat with them. So a dog and a cat...with murderers? A dog made a little more sense since their noses were unrivaled, but a feline? The feline's scent was mixed in with a more powerful scent—the same one from earlier but not the blood... It smelled...almost evil... Why couldn't she place her finger on it? Wait, wait! There was also... Oh, come on! A _fox_ too?! The fox wasn't dead. It had no blood on it and it, too, was mixed that same odor. It wasn't a putrid odor, not at all like the blood, and it was very tolerable, but it was unlike anything she'd ever smelled before.

Okay. Dog. Cat. Fox. Humans. Something else that wasn't any of those. It was an odd cocktail of smells. It hadn't been a hunting spree, it was definitely a killing though.

She continued sniffing, trying to decipher what this was about, when she heard them talking.

"Shut up! It's not like I can't handle myself!" a male voice snapped.

"Honestly, there are times we think you can't," a more innocent male voice replied.

She heard a quick, sharp thump followed by an equally short wail.

"I've been handling myself since before I met Kikyo!" the first voice yelled.

A female voice stepped in. "That was over sixty years ago and she shot you with an arrow."

"And you remained pinned to a tree for fifty years, might I remind you," a different male voice added.

Someone huffed but it was impossible to tell who.

"What does this even have to do with that demon's blood anyway? It might've been a bad smell but I lived didn't I?"

"You almost passed out!"

If they were talking about the smell from earlier, she couldn't blame anyone for passing out. Had she been any closer she would've been throwing her guts up. Anyway, what did they mean by "demon's" blood? Demons weren't real, they were just fairytales. It was like saying they'd slain the Tooth Fairy.

"If not for our help you would've been unable to move for days at the very least," the third male voice said. "I would be surprised if you can still smell at this point."

"Well then get ready for your surprise because I _can_."

If someone in that group couldn't smell, it was all too understandable. Her own nose could pick up scents but some of those scents were warped. That could be the reason behind the different smells attached to each of the animals.

"Listen; Naraku's barrier is still weak, which means we can still find him. He should be close enough to locate by smell, so if your nose is working we should use what time we have left to find him."

Naraku, huh? And they were trying to find him, right? They said he could be found out by smell alone so if their noses weren't working right then she could actually be of use to them. They could guide her to the nearest city and she could take off without a trace once everyone fell asleep. The problem was how to approach them... They seemed to be mercenaries hired to kill this Naraku person, so if they thought she was in allegiance with him, they probably wouldn't hesitate to attack.

"I...I can't pick up his scent..." the first voice mumbled.

Apparently there was only one person in that group who had a keen sense of smell and because of the blood, they couldn't smell right now. This was an opportune moment to trick them into leading her to a city. But she couldn't just walk up and say hi... She could try coming out from the forest on the ground and telling them about her "ability" so smell like a dog could. It was up to them whether or not to believe that but seeing as one person could smell as good or almost as good as her—under normal circumstances anyway—there was a strong chance that they would believe her.

Her mind made up, she jumped off the tree branch and made sure everything was hidden by pushing the headband up more and tightening her tail. They both hurt and they were both uncomfortable but she couldn't look like a freak if she wanted to live.

She decided it was best to approach them slowly. If she rushed up there and startled them it could spell disaster. She took a deep breath and walked in their direction, being mindful of her pace.

Her sense of smell really had been damaged—they were literally right there in front of her whereas she used her sense of smell to tell the distance. It couldn't have possibly been as bad as the nose of one of these people here.

They stopped in front of her and neither made a move until a cloud moved out of the moon's light and allowed clearer vision.

Her first thought? Cosplayers. In front of them stood a man with...well...with her exact looks minus the tail. He was a stunning replica of her, like she was looking in a mirror that reflected her as a boy. At least the others weren't nearly as strange... The fox she had picked up moments ago stood on two legs, each with delicate paws. He had hands like a human's, but a very fluffy tail like a young fox's. The cat was utterly adorable in every way, but had two tails and red eyes—there was a first for everything and maybe they'd dressed up their cat to make it look like this. The last male was what appeared to be a monk with blue robes and an interesting staff. The last character in the group was a woman with what seemed to be armor and the world's biggest boomerang on her back.

The white-haired man reached down to clutch the handle of a sword she'd overlooked.

"And just who are you, walking around in the middle of the night?" he asked.

The monk smiled and pushed the dog guy aside, quickly rushing to grab her hands.

"Pay no mind to Inuyasha—he's just a little worked up right now. But I do have a sincere question for you—"

"Oh, would you give it a rest!" the armored woman nagged.

"— Would you do me the honor of bearing my child?"

Her jaw dropped and she yanked her hands away. Needless to say it took not even a split second to give him a red cheek.

"Pervert!" she yelled.

The little fox boy sighed and mumbled, "Typical..."

She held her hands up and said, "I overheard you talking about a Naraku character and thought I could help you track him. You said you couldn't find him without a sharp sense of smell, right? You also said you couldn't find him because of that blood from earlier. Well you're in luck because I have that sense of smell you need. I can find him with my nose."

The monk suddenly grew serious and looked her over. He didn't seem to be looking at her in a lecherous way. In fact, he seemed to be wary and curious at the same time.

"And how exactly can you smell something like that?" he asked.

Before she could answer about her "ability", that dog guy stepped in again and said, "She's a demon."

"What?! I'm not a demon! I happen to have this ability thanks to a condition I have," she argued.

He snarled. "Don't lie, I can smell you!"

"I can smell you and you reek of canine!"

"Like you're in any position to talk; you smell the same way!"

"Then you must be the one with the dysfunctional nose," she retorted smugly. "At least I can still pick up any kind of scent but you obviously got doused by the blood—I had to be a mile away and I could smell it."

The man growled but was pushed aside by the woman with the armor, who held up a dead insect.

"Inuyasha's nose hasn't been working right ever since we killed that demon, but you said you can sniff anything out, right?"

Demons again... These people really were insane... Either way they were her only option. Going out on her own, trapped in a forest with a full moon approaching, wasn't a wise idea. She would just have to go along with it for now.

She nodded. "Yeah, I can."

The woman brought the insect closer to her. "This is a Sinyosho, a highly poisonous insect. It should have traces of Naraku's scent on it, or even that of his incarnations. You can use this to track down wherever it came from."

Now they resorted to incarnations and crap? Something told her these people would be tough to deal with. Nevertheless, she leaned over and sniffed the dead insect. It smelled like a wasp, bee, and snake's venom combined. It also had traces of something else, one of those scents she couldn't put her finger on. This was probably the "demon" they spoke of. Or maybe it was just Naraku, or one of his "incarnations". In either case...

"Okay," she said, already beginning to sniff the air for the same scent combination.

She tried to bend down to sniff the ground but her tail was still wrapped around her waist. The pain was simply too much and she had to stand back up. If only she could expose her tail, then she wouldn't have any problem bending over.

"What's wrong?" the young fox kid asked. "Isn't there a scent?"

It was impossible to tell at this point. If she didn't let her tail free, she couldn't bend down. If she couldn't bend down, they would find no use for her in their group. If they found no use for her, they would leave without her. But if they saw her tail they would know something was wrong with her. Upon seeing that dog guy, that...that "Inuyasha", her ears probably wouldn't be a problem.

She could claim to be a fellow cosplayer if any problems arose. For now at least, her usefulness was important. She had no choice but to unwind her tail. No sooner than it was behind her, she dropped to the ground and sniffed, moving around from side to side, forward and back. Proving her nose was as strong as she said it was would be a great way to let them know her tail was nothing but a sight.

She leapt to the top of the nearest tree when she couldn't pick up a scent on the ground. Sure enough, there was the scent they were looking for, but it wasn't that of a person—just more insects. It was a faint scent, one that proved those bugs were far away—then again that could just be her damaged nose—and once that wafted into the source of that overpowering blood.

"The scent is coming from that way," she said as she pointed toward the area engulfed in blood odor. "It's useless though. Once we get close enough to the blood, it'll be too much and I'll end up like dog breath over here." She smirked as she looked down at him. "I won't be as stupid either, going right up to that foul smell and ruining my nose."

"I'd like to see you going through there with no idea what that blood smelled like!" he yelled. "It was inside the demon! You tell me how I'm supposed to know what its blood would smell like!"

"Then why didn't you just pass this 'demon' and move on before it blocked your path? That would seem the smart thing to do and you know I'm right! But now that you've splattered all that blood on the ground, I can't go near it. Thanks to you, _dog boy_, I can't lead you to this Naraku guy."

And to top that, her nose would be useless if she went too far into that vicinity. If it was so potent that it forced her to run and she still wound up with a damaged sense of smell, she couldn't go anywhere near it—the traces alone told her that much. At least this mutt would be able to understand and even agree with her, no matter how much he didn't want to.

The armored girl once more stepped up and said, "I can't argue with you since I can't smell as good, but you act like you don't know Naraku even though you're a demon yourself."

"I'm not a demon. Demons don't even exist! My appearance makes me look like I'm half dog but stop calling me names!" she replied.

"Look," "Inuyasha" said, "I don't know what you've been told all your life but you're a demon whether you like it or not. And unless we find and kill Naraku, there's no chance of you becoming a full human."

Normally she would've felt inclined to make a snappy remark, but the word "full" caught her attention.

"Full human? First you say I'm a demon and now you say I'm not a full human? What does that even mean?" she asked in all sincerity.

He sighed and answered, "You're not all demon; you're also not all human. I have no idea why you've been told differently, but when one of your parents is a human and the other is a demon, their children become a half demon. From the way you were saying 'Stop calling me names!', I would think you would've understood that by now—half demons aren't accepted in this world. And yet you call me the stupid one!"

Half demon? Demons themselves didn't exist so how could there possibly be such thing as a half demon? Both her parents were human anyway so even _if_ demons existed, she wouldn't be half of one. This guy was just like the rest of them—completely delusional. But hey, if they wanted to sit there and believe in little fantasies, then who was she to stop them? She'd tried to reason but...it didn't work.

"Hold on a second," the monk said, holding a bundled hand to his chin. "Naraku's scent came from the same way the demon was. He probably knew we were tracking him when he was at his most vulnerable, so wouldn't it make sense that he moved somewhere behind that demon's territory? He knew we would have to fight it and he knew the smell of its blood would be too much for Inuyasha to handle."

Inuyasha snarled. "We fell for another one of his traps..."

Yeah, well she wouldn't make the same mistake. If the idiot's nose couldn't sniff out slight scents like she could, then she knew which way the blood was and how to avoid that scent in the future.

But for now nobody was making her go there, proving she really was of use—_for now_.

**A/N**

**Welp. This is a new accomplishment for me. Normally I never update in just a few days per chapter (despite this being only the third chapter). This is over 3,000 words, which is the most I've done for this story. The wpc will probably fluctuate but I would hope you understand that. I'll try to keep this at about 2,000+ wpc.**

**Hope you liked it! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**I decided do this all in POVs instead of running back and forth. Most POVs will be from Inuyasha and Nozomi but some will also be from the others (namely Kagome just to see what she's up to).**

Nozomi's POV

Just one day had passed, a literal 24 hours, and Inuyasha's nose still wasn't working. These people were still stupid as ever, but at least I had learned all their names and at least I had remembered them. Shocking yet convenient that they never asked me what my name was. They still hadn't reached a city and I was still stuck being their little spaniel. While it was a relief that my usefulness hadn't worn thin, it was especially concerning that I now had merely three days until the full moon. It was imperative that I not be near anyone on the night of the full moon and if I was still stuck in the wilderness with this band of schizophrenic morons on a full moon, I was doomed to be cast out. For now I had a unique place within the group—taking over Inuyasha's job. But when he gained his sense of smell back, there would be no place for me and I would be cast out.

Speaking of places, all I could smell was wolf. Wolf here, wolf there, wolf everywhere! It was irritating and I found myself wanting a dog's scent rather than a wolf's. Inuyasha, unfortunately, was the only one that smelled of dog—me and him anyway.

"Hmph," Inuyasha murmured. "My nose was ruined and I _still_ smell that mangy wolf..."

"What, you mean Koga? We haven't come across him in weeks; why are you still mad at him?" Shippo asked.

I lifted my head for a moment. "And Koga is...?"

"He's the leader of the wolf demon tribe," Sango answered.

Of course he was.

"It wouldn't be too surprising if he's here. This _is_ his territory," the monk added.

Territory. Sure.

I lowered my head and resumed sniffing out "Koga". Right now wolf was prominent so it would be much easier to simply go along with the scent and find the heart of Koga's territory. If he was a "wolf demon", then he would have a den. Dumb cosplayers...

Although, I _was_ wondering if the monk was really a cosplayer. He spoke like a monk and carried his staff everywhere he went. He claimed to have spiritual sutras but I wasn't sure if they were fake or not. All I knew was that I got a slight chill when he pulled one out. It was slowly leading me to believe that he was an actual monk.

But then...what about the rest of them? If the monk was a real monk, then was the demon slayer a real demon slayer—one that hunted down fake demons or vile people? I didn't need to ask about Shippo or Inuyasha. They were crazy cosplayers, end of story. Why they stuck around with the monk, I didn't know.

"All right, move out of the way; I can take it from here," Inuyasha said, pushing me out of the way despite my position of being on the ground.

"Oh, please! You? Honestly? Why not take another check on your poor little nose, dog boy?" I quipped. "Even you just said it's still not working!"

"I don't need it to work to know where that stupid wolf is."

"Why bother tracking him down? I know we stumbled across it by accident but what will you accomplish by barging into his den hoping to fight him?" Sango asked, much more calmly than I would have. "Besides, he might not even be here. How do you know he wasn't here recently but went back to looking for Naraku?"

Sheesh, this Naraku fella was making enemies left and right. I couldn't help but wonder what he did to tick so many people off. Maybe a massacre? Terrorist? Bombing? I didn't know and I didn't care, but whoever he was, he was one really bad guy.

"When Koga's dead we'll have killed two birds with one stone. We get the jewel shards in his legs and there's one less obstacle to finding Naraku before anyone else does," Inuyasha replied.

"Naraku has most of the jewel. It would be easier to let Koga be. He can be useful and I'm sure he'll want to complete the jewel too. In order to do that, he would have to give up his shards. With him dead it's actually Naraku that has one less obstacle," the monk said. "And any enemy of Naraku is an ally of ours."

"Oh really? Then what about Kagura?"

Kagura.

"I'm positive that she intends to betray Naraku."

I got up off the ground and dusted myself off. Naraku this, Naraku that, now Kagura and betrayal... What was this, a bedtime fairytale? These were grown men and women! That little kid was fine—all kids had a vivid imagination—but adults weren't supposed to act like Inuyasha.

I hated to admit it to myself, but I still needed them to take me to human society. Even if my mom wasn't there, I would have a greater chance of finding her than roaming around aimlessly in the wilderness.

My attention was redirected as I smelled the same fragrance as those small shards of...well, some kind of gem that constantly hung around my mother's neck in a little jar. I always figured they were some sort of decorations or just part of the necklace itself as some kind of charm or something—living at a shrine meant that charms and sutras were everywhere and came in all shapes and sizes. But I never knew there were more of them. Wait. These people also had some. It was different with them though... The ones my mother had smelled fresh and soothing; these smelled slightly different, as though they had an extra ingredient—or perhaps lacking in one. They didn't smell as clean. They weren't as fresh and soothing as the ones my mother wore.

Now there was another one somewhere nearby that didn't belong to the group and it smelled very unclean, like a rougher version of the group's fragments. It had the same general scent though, and that was enough for me to know what it was. The problem now was where to find it. How to find it was solved but I couldn't pinpoint its exact location. It was somewhere around here though, that was for sure. And it was nearby, so it would be somewhere right around where I stood.

Wait a minute... These guys sounded like they were collecting shards of some jewel they kept mentioning. I couldn't help but wonder if this shard belonged to the jewel they were looking for. If I could find it and show it to them...if I was right and this _was_ what they wanted...then my place would be set within the group and they would need me. From the way it sounded, Inuyasha wasn't able to sniff out these jewel pieces, which meant I was the only one who could do that.

I immediately ducked down and sniffed. The scent of wolf was nearly overwhelming but not strong enough to overpower the scent of that shard. I swore I heard someone ask me what I was doing but I paid no mind and continued. Actions spoke louder than words, so I could only prove my worth in the group by actually finding the thing. Once I did that, I would have hard evidence that I could smell the jewel fragments. I would tell them that and if this really was what they were searching for, then I would continue to be useful. If it wasn't what they were looking for then I could only hope Inuyasha's nose wouldn't recover until we came across a town.

If he could smell as sharply as I could before we came to a town, then I stood little chance of staying with them. This was why eventually ditching them was the best option—that and they were mental.

The scent led me to the base of a cliff, where it only grew stronger. It was bad enough that I was starting to get paranoid, but if I had to spend the next hundred years sharpening my claws on solid rock, then I would look even worse than these people. I could already imagine it—me slashing away at rock that would get a few scratches at _most_.

I tapped at the very bottom, realizing it wasn't embedded in the rock, but in the soil. Lucky stroke for me, but this didn't mean I was out of the woods yet. I had no idea how deep it was or if it was in fact under a layer of rock in the ground.

I stuck a finger in the ground to test how soft it was. Not exactly the ideal soil for digging, but I could make do with little difficulty.

It took me an entire hour filled with questions to which I never answered to dig that stupid thing up. But when I saw it, it was darker than my mother's little fragments. This one was tainted—I could just tell it was. It smelled worse than when it was underground, but hey, I wasn't in much of a position to complain right now. Instead, I just went along with it and spread my hand to how them my find.

It surprised me to see how shocked they were to see a mere piece of a jewel. Frankly I saw nothing special about it other than the scent. It did look pretty, I supposed, so maybe that was it. Seemed a little farfetched considering their expressions, but I had no other leads right now.

"Did you sniff that jewel shard out?" Sango asked, apparently the first to recover.

Her question seemed to put everyone in a calmer mood but I could tell just how badly they wanted to know how I managed to find it.

"I guess so," I replied. "It smells a lot like perfume and I've seen these things before, so I figured it was another one. Since you kept talking about a jewel, I thought this might be what you're looking for."

Inuyasha quickly snatched the shard from my hand and inspected it. "It doesn't look very defiled to me."

"That can only mean a demon never found it," Miroku added.

"I think you're all forgetting that we finally found someone capable of tracking the jewel shards," Sango said as Shippo nodded his head in agreement.

So I was useful after all... The good part was, I could sniff these things out without even trying. So on my part, this would be an absolute breeze. Pinpointing them was a different matter though. I probably got lucky this time but a sense of smell could only find the general area, not the precise location. It wasn't the sharpest tool but it was the only tool. My nose was all I had to offer, but they had accepted it and that was what mattered.

"Hey!" the little kid exclaimed as he grabbed my leg. "Why don't you come with us? You would be a big help in finding the jewel shards, and we can protect you in return."

Inuyasha, as I expected, undermined Shippo with, "You've got fangs and claws, you can protect yourself. I'm not protecting anybody I don't have to."

I angrily shook the kid off. "When did I ask for help?! Didn't your little friend here just say _you_ needed _me?_"

He growled at me. "Just shut up! We've been doing perfectly fine on our own!"

Crap. If what he said was true, I really didn't have a place here. And if he could smell the wolf scent when nobody else seemed to be able to, then his nose would be up and running by tomorrow. That couldn't be a worse time for me... I couldn't decide whether it was best to just leave now or chance an all-out brawl with Inuyasha.

"If you're doing so fine then why weren't you the one sniffing out the jewel? It had a strong enough scent to power through the wolves' and if I recall correctly, you said you didn't even need your nose to work to smell _that_," I retorted—a last attempt to counter him.

"Of course I smelled it! I just didn't know where it was, exactly..." He unwittingly mumbled the last sentence, but I got the point he was making.

Decision made.

"Fine. I know where I'm not wanted."

With that, I leapt onto the nearest tree branch, ignoring the "wait!"s and "come back!"s, and even one "don't listen to Inuyasha!". The only one I did pay attention to was Inuyasha's "and good riddance!" That one was enough to strengthen my decision and instead of lingering any longer, I drove faster through the forest we'd just come out of, keeping height in the trees so as to avoid the wolves that undoubtedly roamed this area. Any other day I would be bold and reckless and actually look for trouble just to prove my abilities to myself. Today, though, the cycle was starting to affect me and I couldn't bring myself to get back on the ground. Of all the times to warp to a different place, this had to be by far the _worst_.

That only proved to me that I did need their protection. I'd never been on my own before and I'd certainly never fought anyone. The only thing I'd ever fought was a pole and somehow I doubted that was fighting at all. Fighting off a single wolf would be hard enough. Fighting two wolves would be harder. Three or more wolves would be impossible and I would die at the mercy of their jaws.

But...Inuyasha was right about one thing—I did have fangs and claws, which could be easily used for defense. Still, I had no idea how to use them. What was I supposed to do, bite the wolves? Slash them and make them angrier? That was pretty useless. What good were fangs and claws if I couldn't use them?

So great; I was stuck in the wilderness with no sense of direction whatsoever and had no way of protecting myself. What a nice thought.

I wanted to scowl at just how little I knew about camping. When you're under attack by a bear, run downhill—that was pretty much all I knew and I highly doubted it would come in handy.

I stopped for a moment to look back. I wanted to go back. I could still smell them. I wasn't far enough away yet. If I had the choice, I would try to stay with them, but my own instincts told me Inuyasha was the strongest of the group and I was already on his bad side. Going back now would only result in me being chased off again. Needless to say that wasn't on my to-do list. I would have to go somewhere though... I finally found humans that could lead me to other humans. It would be stupid to give that up.

But it wasn't like I had any choice in the matter. The best I could—no, the _only_ thing I could do—was to stay on the fringes of their radar. This way I wouldn't be caught and I could follow them. It sounded like I'd hit rock bottom with desperation, but this called for desperate measures.


End file.
